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Matt Hamilton of the USA in action during the Great Britain v USA Men's Curling round robin matches on day 12 of the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics at Gangneung Curling Centre on February 21, 2018 in Gangneung, South Korea. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

Curling — it’s a thing in the Bay Area.

Many members of the San Francisco Bay Area Curling Club came together at Novel Brewing in Oakland on Monday to cheer on Team U.S.A. as the men’s curling team competed for a spot in the semifinals.

The San Francisco Bay Area Curling Club not only hosts watch parties but they offer newbies the opportunity to learn to curl with various curling clinics set up in Oakland and Fremont.

The clinic teaches students the basics, the history and the techniques fundamental to the game. But that’s only the first half of the session, the second is a series of mini-games to practice your new found curling abilities.

“The increased exposure allows more people to see the sport,” said San Francisco Bay Area Curling member, Richard Lazarowich. “As soon as they see the excitement on the television they want to figure out how they can try it for themselves and so we set up to learn the curls which is basically a two-hour clinic.”

For many curling may just be a sport they happen to watch during the Olympics but in the Bay Area, it’s had roots as an organization since 1958 when the club was first founded in Mountain View.

Over the years San Francisco Bay Area Curling Club has expanded their practices to San Jose since 1994 and after the 2006 Olympics, it grew even more, allowing them to partner with Sharks Ice to create classes and leagues in San Jose and Fremont. Today the club has expanded as far as Oakland.